If you've decided to have a baby and can't help thinking about little pink baby things, you probably want to conceive a girl! There are completely ways for gender selection before you conceive, and although none of them are guaranteed to work, success stories certainly show that following them can certainly tip the odds in your favor.
Parenting can be the most rewarding and exhilarating of all human experience, and parents will love their child regardless of gender.
But a lot of people can have a gender preference when it comes to having a child, if only to make the family balanced with a boy and a girl, or because they have natural instinct about wanting a boy or a girl.
If your heart is set on having a girl, there are certain basic things about conception that need to be understood.
It is widely thought that the woman's genetic build up determines the sex of the child.
In reality, the woman's egg always contains one extra X chromosome.
What gender the baby will be is decided by which sperm fertilises the egg.
If the sperm contains a Y chromosome, then the baby is going to be an XY baby, a boy! And if the sperm that ends up fertilising is an X sperm, then the baby will be a girl, an XX baby.
Which sperm fertilises the egg depends on which sperm wins the race to the egg! If you want to conceive a girl, therefore, then your aim is to make conditions favourable for an X sperm.
The odds of fertilisation are equal for both kinds of sperm.
But there are some slight but crucial differences between both sperm and it is these differences that can be used to tip the odds in favour of the X sperm.
So what are these differences? The girl (X) sperm is heavier and slower than the boy (Y) sperm.
However, the girl sperm has more stamina in that it can lie in wait for longer periods.
Also, the boy sperm prefers more alkaline conditions and cannot survive in very acidic conditions.
So to conceive a girl, the conditions should be such that they play on the strengths of the girl sperm.
Some simple measures thought to increase chances of conceiving a girl...
Girl sperm can last for longer than the boy sperm, therefore if conception takes place a few days before ovulation begins, it is more likely that boy sperm will have died out and a girl sperm will fertilise the egg.
Sexual position can also play a part in determining where sperm is deposited.
If sperm is deposited closer to the entrance of the vagina, they would need to travel a greater distance to the egg, and sperm that is more equipped to handle larger distances (girl sperm) is more likely to win the race to the egg and you're likely to conceive a girl! Boy sperm prefers alkaline conditions, so if you're keen on conceiving a girl, there are certain foods you can consume that are thought to make your body more acidic.
The PH levels in the vaginal and reproductive tract can be controlled with diet, so it is possible to, based on proper knowledge to make these conditions favourable to a girl sperm.
While all of these methods are thought to work based on popular knowledge and success stories, there is no sound scientific proof available.
But they're natural and harmless measures so if you're really keen on having a girl, then there is no harm giving them a shot!